Faucet or valve handle turning tool

ABSTRACT

A faucet or valve handle turning tool is provided and includes an elongated, cylindrical body of machinable or moldable material having a handle at one end and a cavity formed in the opposite end. The cavity is formed with inwardly extending sidewalls and has at least one portion conforming to the peripheral contour of a faucet or valve handle. In particular, the sidewalls of such cavity may have similar elliptical contours. In at least one example, the cavity may be formed by means of mechanical routing and removal of material from the tool body. In use, the tool thereby reduces the possibility of damage to a polished faucet or valve handle frequently caused by hardened conventional plumbing tools.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a plumbing tool and, morespecifically, to a versatile faucet or valve handle turning tool. Whenservicing or replacing plumbing fixtures, such as sinks and toilets, itis often required that the water supply to the fixture be turned off. Itis typical in residential and commercial construction to place a shutoff faucet or valve in close proximity to the plumbing fixture. Becausea significant amount of time can elapse between actuation of the shutoff faucet or valve, it is common for these valves to “stick” or becomedifficult to operate. In addition, the location of the shut off faucetor valve in close proximity to the plumbing fixture often makes itdifficult easily access the valve and obtain the needed leverage to turnthe valve handle to the off position. Furthermore, placing a commonmonkey wrench, pipe wrench or channel lock pliers on the faucet or valvehandle can damage (and sometimes destroy) the handle. There exists aneed for a tool of simple construction that allows the user to actuatethe shut off faucet or valve with ease without damaging the valve duringuse.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A preferred example of the faucet or valve handle turning tool includesa cavity formed at one end of the tool body and a handle at the oppositeend. The cavity receives a portion of the outer peripheral surface of aconventional faucet or valve handle.

The faucet or valve handle turning tool of the present inventionfacilitates alternative rotation of a faucet or valve handle, and inparticular, faucet or valve handles located in cramped working quarters.In addition, the invention provides a recessed gripping cavity ofrelatively soft material when compared with the exposed gripping surfaceof said tool handle. The recessed gripping cavity of the tool may berelatively straight in configuration including a major and a minor axisto provide increased rotational strength required for rotation of saidtool handle upon a faucet or valve handle.

In another embodiment, there is formed an ellipsoidal cavity whichincludes an inwardly extending, elliptically formed, peripheral sidewallsubstantially matching the mating peripheral surface of a conventionalfaucet or valve handle. This elliptical configuration also permits arelatively greater gripping contour for alternative rotation of thefaucet or valve handle. Varying the length of one or both major or minordimension of the elliptical axes provides a more versatile design forknown hexagonal, octagonal and abraded circular surfaces of conventionalfaucet or valve handles. A novel elliptical contour with thepossibilities of varying length of the major and/or minor axes providesmeans of grasping handles of contours other than elliptical.

In addition, the specific concave end of present turning tool utilizes awooden, plastic, or otherwise machinable or moldable material providinga relatively soft mating, scratch-resistant surface for engagingrelatively highly polished, metallic faucet or valve handles. It wasalso discovered that the ellipsoidal cavitation of the novel deviceprovides ample room for variations in size of an elliptical faucet orvalve handle. The elongation of the elliptical sides provides sufficientgrasp for turning the handle in either direction.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a toolwhich allows the application of high torque in either the opening orclosing direction of a highly polished decorative faucet or valve handlelocated in a narrow working area.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a tool whichsecurely and firmly fits onto the faucet or valve handle without causingdamage thereto.

It is another object of the present invention to provide alongitudinally elongated tool defining a recessed opening at one endthereof, and wherein the recessed opening or cavity has an ellipticalconfiguration.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a toolfor accommodating faucet or valve handles, and which tool includes anelongated handle for minimizing difficulty reaching inwardly of acabinet, lavatory or toilet during installation or routine maintenanceprocedures.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a faucet or valvehandle turning tool including one end of the tool terminating in arecess or cavity of lesser material hardness when compared to thehardness of the exposed surface of the faucet or valve handle, tothereby reduce the possibility of damage to a gripped faucet handlesurface.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a faucetor valve handle turning tool having a cylindrical body of machinable ormoldable material composition formed at one end of the supportingcylindrical body with a faucet or valve handle gripping cavity ofpreferred ellipsoidal configuration. The opposite end of the cylindricalbody is provided with manual gripping means radially extending from theperiphery of the cylindrical body for rotational leverage of the toolwith respect to the faucet or valve handle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an integrally formed, rotatable handlefor providing rotational leverage to a faucet or valve handle.

FIG. 2 is a perspective, enlarged view of oppositely located endportions of the tool of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of another version of the faucet or valvehandle gripping end of the tool of FIG. 1, and wherein a separatelyformed, cavitational surface is provided.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the tool of FIGS. 1 and 2, and showing, inphantom, the relative position of comparable ellipsoidal handleconfigurations of varying sizes, and which may be accommodated by thetool of this invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the faucet or valve handle turning tool ofFIGS. 1-3, inclusive, and showing a relative machine position of anoperating router, mechanical shaping tool or the like, during formationof the slotted, recessed cavity protruding axially relative to thecylindrical body of the tool.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view integrally formed tool of this invention,which tool includes an elliptically formed recess for preferablyaccommodating elliptically configured faucet or valve handles.

FIG. 6 is an end view of the tool of FIG. 5 and its preferred ellipticalcavity.

FIG. 7 is another version of the tool of FIGS. 1 and 2, but with anelliptically formed, two-stepped end cavity.

FIG. 8 is illustrative of an end view of a faucet or valve handleturning tool, wherein perpendicular or transversely arranged recessedareas are disposed for retention of elliptical faucet handles havingeither a vertical or a horizontal axis and being disposed in relativeperpendicular directions.

FIG. 9 is an end view of the tool of this invention depicting a valvehandle gripping configuration arranged for accommodating twoconventionally sized faucet or valve handles, and in which a smallersize handle is accommodated by means of placement of oppositely disposedstrips of material positioned inwardly with respect to the exposed outersurface of the cavity or recessed area of larger dimension.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable thoseskilled in the art to practice the invention, the physical embodimentsherein disclosed merely exemplify the invention that may be embodied inother specific structures.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated the tool 10 of thisinvention having a generally cylindrical, elongated, body 12 with aradially extended lever arm or handle 11 and distal end 40. The leverarm 11 extends from the periphery of the cylindrical body 12 to providemanually rotatable leverage to the tool for rotation of a valve handle(not shown in FIG. 1). In the present case, it has been found to beconvenient to form the lever arm 11 in the shape of a conventional“shovel-type” handle which may be formed as an integral part of the body12, as shown. A preformed handle (not shown) may be made of two matingelongate members affixed or otherwise joined in mating relationship tosurround the cylindrical body 12. In addition the handle or lever arm 11may be formed by passing a rigid, elongated rod through an openingformed transversely through the end of body 12 opposite its distal end40. Also, the lever arm 11 may be constructed from the combination of ahexagonal protrusion formed on the end of the body 12 opposite distalend 40 in combination with a wrench. The wrench could include any of thefollowing: open end wrench, box end wrench, socket wrench, crescentwrench or the like. All versions of the lever arm or handle 11 couldconceivably be made of a one-piece, unitary construction, such as moldedfrom a suitable plastic material.

It will be further apparent that the present tool 10 may have a machinedoutline made by means of a conventional router or shaper bit having thedesired configuration for forming the recessed area or cavity 14. In theembodiment of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the cavity 14 is shown with parallelstraight, oppositely disposed, sidewalls 16 a and 18 a. As is disclosedin FIG. 3, the sidewalls 16 a and 18 a may be selectively positioned inspaced relationship to accommodate the larger of the two conventionalelliptical faucet or valve handles shown herein by phantom line 20 a.The width between the sidewalls 16 a and 18 a may be of such dimensionas to also accommodate a smaller version of a conventional faucet orvalve handle as disclosed in FIG. 3 shown herein by phantom line 20 b.Other embodiments of the present invention will be shown and describedin the figures to follow.

It is preferred, and is a part of this invention, to provide a body ofplastic, wood or other relatively soft texture to mate with the valve orfaucet handle when compared to the exterior of a typical metallic faucetor valve handle rotatably operated by the tool of this invention. Asshown in FIG. 2, the cylindrical body 12 may be secured to a separatehandle or lever 11 constructed of a hard material such as steel, castiron or the like. As shown in FIG. 2A, the body 12 could be connected tothe handle 11 by means of a transversely located screw or screws throughthe opening as shown.

As stated in the Brief Description of the Drawings, FIG. 4 isillustrative of a typical transverse recess made by a router ormechanical shaping tool, shown in phantom line 24, and having aconventional straight bit 26 and positioned, as shown, to traverse thelongitudinal axis of the cylindrical body 12, and thereby define thesidewalls 16 a and 18 a rising from the inwardly recessed area 14.

The embodiment of FIG. 5 illustrates a relatively shortened length body12 of the tool 10. In particular, the view of FIG. 5 illustrates analternative embodiment of a machined recess or cavity 14 b having anelliptical configuration.

As shown in FIG. 6, the elliptical configuration is definedgeometrically by a major axis 30 and a minor axis 32. In the embodimentof FIGS. 5 and 6, it will be observed that the machined ellipticalconfiguration of the recess 14 b is measured to grippingly grasp aconventional faucet or valve handle 20 a, shown in phantom outline inthe view of FIG. 6. The recessed area 14 b of FIG. 6 may also bemodified in size to accommodate a smaller faucet or valve handle; asshown in phantom line 20 b in FIG. 3.

The alternative embodiment of FIG. 7 depicts a stepped recess formed inthe cylindrical body 12 to provide an inwardly located, relativelysmaller, faucet or valve handle outline in the deeper recess 14 d usingthe stepped down sidewalls 16 d and 18 d from the deeper recess 14 d. Arelatively larger conventional faucet or valve handle may be received bythe laterally extending sidewalls 16 e and 18 e defining the largerrecess 14 c.

The present invention may also adopt the configuration shown in FIG. 8,wherein a horizontal recess 14 f and a vertical recess 14 e may beformed, machined or otherwise inwardly axially disposed relative to thedistal end 40 of the body 12. Such arrangement provides means foroperating the faucet or valve handle in the desired rotative directionand accommodates the workable spacing available for rotating the faucetor valve handle.

Another alternative configuration is shown in FIG. 9 whereby placementof relatively thin filler strips 42 and 44 having laterally extendingsidewalls 16 d′ and 18 d′ define a smaller cavity as compared to thecavity formed by sidewalls 16 e and 18 e integral with the body 12. Theplacement of oppositely disposed, relatively thin, strips 42 and 44 canoptionally be glued, interference fit or otherwise tacked in place toreceive a relatively smaller sized faucet or valve handle 20 b (notshown).

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Furthermore, since numerous modifications and changeswill readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired tolimit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed. While the preferred embodiment has been described, thedetails may be changed without departing from the invention, which isdefined by the claims.

1. A faucet handle turning tool for engaging and actuating a faucethandle, the tool comprising: an elongated, longitudinally extending,cylindrical body; said cylindrical body comprising a cavity extendingaxially inwardly from end portion of said body and manually rotatablegripping means at the opposite end portion of said body.
 2. The faucethandle turning tool of claim 1, wherein said cavity has at least oneinwardly extending sidewall; said indentation having a peripherygenerally conforming to the peripheral contour of said faucet handle,and being arranged to engage and alternatively rotate said faucet handlein opposed opening or closing directions.
 3. The faucet handle turningtool of claim 2, wherein the mating surface of the cavity formed in theone end of said cylindrical body has a surface hardness less than thesurface hardness of the mating surface of the faucet handle.
 4. Thefaucet handle turning tool of claim 3, wherein the one end of said bodycontaining said cavity is of wooden material.
 5. The faucet handleturning tool of claim 3, wherein the one end of said body is of moldedplastic material.
 6. The faucet handle turning tool of claim 2, whereinthe inwardly extending sidewall of said cavity is defined by anelliptically formed peripheral contour.
 7. The faucet handle turningtool of claim 2, wherein said cavity includes radially spacedindentations of substantially identical ellipsoidal contour toaccommodate faucet handles having mating ellipsoidal contours.
 8. Thefaucet handle turning tool of claim 7, wherein the radially spacedindentations are respectively located at separate levels projectinginwardly parallel with the axis of said cylindrical body.
 9. The faucethandle turning tool of claim 8, wherein the radially spaced indentationsare provided by relatively thin filler strips of substantially evenheight located to define separate levels projecting inwardly parallelwith the axis of said cylindrical body.
 10. The faucet handle turningtool of claim 2, wherein the inwardly extending sidewall indentation ofsaid cavity is formed by mechanical routing and removing material fromthe exposed surface of said one end portion.
 11. The faucet handleturning tool of claim 9, wherein a cylindrical body of said turning toolis comprised of a machinable composition of lesser hardness than theexposed surface of said faucet handle to thereby reduce the possibilityof damage to said faucet handle surface.
 12. The faucet handle turningtool of claim 2, wherein said cavity includes two elongated, axiallyextending, sidewall indentations, and wherein the respectivelongitudinal axes of said indentations are located in transverselyrelative relationship.
 13. The faucet handle turning tool of claim 12,wherein the respective longitudinal axes of said indentations arelocated in perpendicular relationship.
 14. The faucet handle turningtool of claim 12, wherein the respective peripheries of saidindentations are of elliptical contour and wherein the elliptical majorand minor axes are located in perpendicular relationship.